GRADUATION TOWERS

Graduation Towers – a unique, Europe’s largest wooden structure to evaporate water from the brine, which was designed by James Graff – professor at the Mining Academy in Kielce.In Ciechocinek three such structures were built – they are set in a horseshoe shape.Graduation towers I and II were built between 1824 and 1828, the third one appeared in 1859.The basis of the graduation tower consists of about 7000 oak piles stuck in the ground, on which a spruce-pine structure filled with blackthorn was placed, through which brine flows.

Graduation tower height is 15.8 m, while their total length is 1741.5 m; brine is pumped to the graduation tower from the stream No. 11 (“Grzybek” fountain) and it is forced to the trays installed on top of them. From here brine in form of drops flows through tower’s walls and under the influence of wind and sunlight, evaporates intensively.What is formed around the graduation tower is the famous, reach in iodine mi microclimate creating natural and therapeutic inhalation. Similar inhalation is located near the “Grzybek” fountain – although at first the dispersion of brine on the top of the fountain was a side effect of need to bridge the difference in height of land between the pipeline to graduation tower and stream No. 11, in the context of applied technology used to pump water from the source at that time.

Graduation towers are working throughout the year (entrance to the top is opened seasonally)Fees collected seasonally (spring-autumn) between the hours of 9:00-19:00.